Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
Trump is demanding millions from his own administrationPresident Trump is asking the Justice Department to pay him about $230 million in compensation for past investigations into him. The situation, which was revealed today by our Washington reporters Devlin Barrett and Tyler Pager, has no parallel in American history. It is also perhaps the starkest example yet of the president’s potential ethical conflicts: His close allies, including one of his former defense lawyers, could be in charge of approving any such payout. “The ethical conflict is just so basic and fundamental, you don’t need a law professor to explain it,” Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University, told The Times. When campaigning for president, Trump submitted one complaint in 2023 and another in 2024, both seeking damages from the Justice Department for what he described as violations of his rights during investigations into his conduct. Compensation is typically covered by taxpayers, and there is no requirement that such a payout ever be announced. When asked about the potential conflict of interest, the Justice Department said it would follow the guidance of career ethics officials. However, the department’s top ethics adviser was fired three months ago. In other Trump administration news:
Putin meeting was put on pauseIn a reversal, a White House official said today that Trump had no plans to meet with Vladimir Putin in the immediate future. Just last week, the president had announced plans for a meeting with the Russian president in Budapest to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. That leaves a question mark surrounding next steps in the efforts to negotiate a cease-fire. Ukraine’s president visited the White House last week in hopes of working with the U.S. to push Russia to the negotiating table. But the meeting was contentious, and no obvious progress was made. In Russia, the Kremlin has throttled WhatsApp and Telegram while pushing a new state-controlled “super app,” moving closer to a restricted internet without foreign technology.
Trump rearranged funds to pay some workers during shutdownThe government shutdown has now stretched on for three weeks. Normally, federal employees would go without a paycheck until Congress passed new legislation. But this time, the Trump administration has reprogrammed billions of dollars to pay troops and law enforcement officials. The steps stretch the authority of the White House and encroach on the spending power vested solely in Congress. But few have challenged Trump, given the broad, bipartisan desire to pay government employees. For more:
Japan elected its first female prime ministerSanae Takaichi was elected today as the new leader of Japan, making her the first female prime minister in a country where women have long struggled for influence. Like her mentor, the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is expected to lead Japan to the right. Takaichi defies easy labels. She is a veteran conservative lawmaker, but she’s also a fan of heavy metal music and Kawasaki motorcycles. And unlike most Japanese leaders, she does not come from a prominent political family. More top news
Springsteen looks back at ‘Nebraska’Bruce Springsteen took a risk with his 1982 album “Nebraska.” It was a bedroom-recorded, low-fi product of one-man arrangements: guitars, voice, harmonica and little more. Now, Springsteen is proving that he made the right choice. He is set to release a new boxed set of the professionally made, electric versions of his “Nebraska” songs, recorded in the early ’80s by his E Street Band. The original version still holds something more, but the new set is full of striking outtakes (and a cranked-up version of “Born in the U.S.A.”). “It was probably the most primitive that the E Street Band has ever sounded,” Springsteen said in an interview.
A dream job for a celebrated indie designerThe British fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner said six years ago that it was her dream to work with Hermès. Today, she was named creative director of men’s wear for the French brand. Wales Bonner, 35, has achieved wunderkind status as the head of her own label over the last decade and has been expected to land at a luxury label. But her appointment bucks the industry’s trend toward white and male creative directors — and makes her the first-ever Black woman to lead design at a major fashion house.
Dinner table topics
Cook: Pull out a sheet pan and make some flavorful shrimp tikka. Read: “Murder in Constantinople” is a compelling new murder mystery. Cheer: A new N.B.A. season begins tonight. Test your knowledge of the real and fictional game with this quiz. Wear: Take inspiration from our fashion photographer’s look of the week. Plan: These five Western road trips are perfect for the fall. Pack well: The tidying expert Marie Kondo shared her travel advice. |
